


Making A Claim

by sarcastic_fi



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Alternate Universe - Human, BDSM, Canonical Character Death, Dom/sub, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-10-15
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2017-10-24 15:42:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/265176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcastic_fi/pseuds/sarcastic_fi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ABANDONED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt posted here: http://teenwolfkink.livejournal.com/2069.html?page=5&view=1076757#comments  
> I am not the creator of the 'bdsm universe', it was made popular thanks to the success of Xanthe's stories in multiple fandoms (and now an original character novel), more about this can be found here; http://www.xanthewalter.com/the-bdsm-universe/

Chapter One

Stiles walked through the front door of his house feeling numb. Well, that hadn’t gone quite how he had imagined it would, except for the part where he was still alone and unwanted. Today had been the first Claiming Ceremony that Stiles had been allowed to attend, and it had been a revelation of sorts. California law stated that only peoples over the age of sixteen years old could attend a Claiming Ceremony, and only people who had passed the high school class on understanding dynamics were allowed to enter the Claiming. Claiming was all about Dominants announcing their intention to date, or court, a Submissive. The Submissive could then say yes or no, and if they said yes it was then referred to their parents if they were under the age of twenty-one. No collars were presented during or after the ceremony since this was more like asking someone to go steady than asking them to marry you, and by law no Submissive could be collared without a six month courtship, and they had to be over eighteen. It was complicated, but in the past Submissives had been abused under the 1925 Collaring laws that had been replaced by the 1978 Courtship law, much to many old fashioned people’s disgust. Stiles, who identified as Submissive, was grateful for these laws, however he still thought it sucked to stand up in front of the whole town and have to say ‘hi, I’m Stiles and I’m a Submissive, anyone want me?’, or words to that effect, and watch while no one, not a single person, even considered him. It was humiliating and Stiles was considering writing a letter of protest to the governor of California begging to be let out of the Bonding Ceremony in six months time which was when successful couples over the age of eighteen would be allowed to take a collar or the unsuccessful unclaimed Submissives of the Claiming Ceremony would be forced to step up once again and invite humiliation.

“How’d it go, son?” His dad was home, sat at the kitchen table with a police report out in front of him and a glass with a finger of scotch.

“Well, apparently Lydia has decided she’s just a really pushy Submissive because she was in the same line up as me, and Scott tried to Claim Allison but Jackson put a Claim on her too and now her parents have to choose between Scott and Jackson. Danny got his guy though, he put a Claim in on a blond senior I’ve never even seen before and they rode of happily into the sunset,” Stiles filled his dad in, still stunned remembering the shock and outrage which had crossed Scott’s face when Jackson stepped up to make a Claim, and how hurt Lydia had been when her boyfriend hadn’t wanted her. She’d been Claimed by three different other guys, one was a senior who’s dad owned half the town in property, another was a freshman who wanted to be the next Jackson Whittemore, and the last had been a Junior who’d grades were going to get him into the best college in the country on scholarship and his good looks had his parents turning down offers to model. While she hadn’t been humiliated like Stiles had, he was sure she was hurt.

“No bracelet I see,” the Sheriff commented and Stiles looked at his bare wrists. It wasn’t necessary but most Claimed submissives went home with bracelets given to them by their Dominant as a gift and a sign of possession since collaring was out for teenagers.

“Yeah well it’s not like I was expecting one,” Stiles replied, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. His dad looked away, probably feeling guilty that he hadn’t been able to make it to the ceremony. Stiles wanted to tell his dad it was fine, no hard feelings because it wasn’t like he’d even had a chance at being claimed but he wasn’t sure he could choke the words out past the hurt and humiliation. Like most emotion in their house it lingered unspoken and unexpressed.

“What are you working on? Someone break into the mall again for a prank?” Stiles asked, sitting down next to his dad and peering at the file.

The Sheriff closed the folder and stared at his son over the rim of his spectacles, unfortunately it was too late. “Stiles, how many times have I told you that-”

“Is that a dead body?” Stiles asked, paler now. In all his life he had only heard of two incidents where a dead body had been found. One was his mom, and two was the fire at the Hale house on the edge of the woods. He considered Beacon Hills a disgustingly safe place to live, sheltered, where the only crime was petty vandalism and pranks gone wrong. No one locked their doors at night and the only reason people owned guns was because of frequent wild animal sightings.

His father sighed. “Yes, we’re investigating the death of Laura Hale. In fact, I’ve got to call her brother up now and inform him that we identified her body,” he took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose, this was the part of his job that he hated.

“Laura Hale? Her house was the one that got burned down, right? Her brother is Derek Hale? Why was she even in town I though they moved away to live with family in New York after the fire? How long has she been back? Was she murdered? Was there another fire?” Stiles asked rapidly.

“Stiles!” His dad yelled through the incessant babble of questions. Stiles stilled and met his father’s weary eyes. “No more questions. And stop looking through my files, there is no way you could know that she lived in New York unless you’d been in my work files and that is illegal,” his father reminded him sternly.

“Arrest me then,” Stiles replied. He didn’t even have the grace to blush at being caught out. He was naturally curious about crime and particularly the Hale fire because it was one of only two violent crimes that had resulted in death in Beacon Hills. Personally Stiles believed the cops were wrong to dismiss it as a tragic accident, he believed there had been an arsonist behind the death of over half the Hale family. But he was a kid so who’d listen to him?

“Just go to bed,” his father bit out exasperated after only ten minutes of his son.

“Going to bed!” Stiles announced with a mock salute. “Night dad,” he added more kindly before disappearing around the corner. He waited until his dad sighed and picked up the telephone receiver, dialling a number and waiting for the call to connect.

“Is this Derek Hale?” He heard his dad asking in his best ‘Sheriff’ voice. “This is Sheriff Stilinski of Beacon Hills, California. I’m sorry to tell you that we found your sister’s body in the woods a this morning. I’m so sorry. We’d like you to come and claim the body. Of course. We’ll be seeing you soon. I’m so sorry for your loss, Mr Hale. Good night.”

It looked like Derek Hale would be coming back to Beacon Hills for the first time in six years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any recognisable material belongs to Teen Wolf creators!

“Stiles! What are you doing!” Scott bit out as his best friend tumbled through the second story window of the McCall household. Stiles blinked up at Scott and Scott’s mom who was dressed in her bathrobe and pjs with a baseball bat in her hands. This had seemed like a much better idea when he had been at home, now exhausted after his climb he was kind of regretting his impulsivity.

“Hi Mrs. McCall, Scott. Just thought I’d stop by to console Scott,” he offered weakly, wondering if either of them even played baseball. Melissa McCall calmed down and left the room, but not without a glare in Stiles’ direction which he kind of took offense at.

“Why are you really here, Stiles?” Scott asked, sitting back down on his bed. Stiles considered getting up, but maybe in a minute.

“There is a body in the woods!” He announced.

“A body?” Scott repeated slowly. “A dead body?”

“No, a body of water. Yes, a dead body! Come on,” he said, and finally got up, heading back towards the window.

“Wait! Aren’t the police everywhere? Like your dad?” Scott asked.  
Stiles rolled his eyes. “I look that dumb to you? No, my dad is at home snoring in his room after drinking too much alcohol. There’s like one policeman left there guarding the area where the body was found,” he explained.

“So why are we even going?”

“Because they only found half the body. Obviously enough to make an identification because I heard dad calling the next of kin last night. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could find the other half?” Stiles suggested, practically vibrating out of his own skin.

Scott eyed him warily. “How much Adderall have you had?”

“Lots, come on!” Stiles said, pulling his friend up.

“If I say no you’re going to go anyway, aren’t you?” Scott guessed.  
Stiles nodded, and grinned when Scott started to climb out of his window. It was going to be a night to remember!

>>

Two hours later Stiles was at the police station. It seems his dad had decided that patrolling in partners was the safest thing to do and Deputy Miles Markham had caught them when Scott had dropped the flashlight and started having an asthma attack. It would have been the best adventure ever, Stiles thought mournfully as he watched Markham fill his dad in on the details. The Sheriff hadn’t so much as looked in his direction since arriving at the station, it was his non-confrontational way of letting Stiles know he was mad at him and that he was disappointed. It was also very effective. If it was one thing Stiles hated more than anything it was being ignored.

“I’m here to see Sheriff Stilinski,” a voice growled to Stiles’ left and he saw that there was an extremely hot older guy talking to one of the officers on the night shift. He was only a few years older, probably in his twenties but only just, with spiky black hair and an expensive leather jacket. He definitely wasn’t a local as Stiles had never seen him before, and he would have noticed this guy.

“He’s in a meeting right now but if you’d like to wait there are some chairs over there,” she offered, pointing over to where Stiles was spread out over three of the chairs. He quickly scooted over so that he was taking up only one seat, the seat on the end, and wished that Scott’s mom hadn’t already picked him up because Scott would never believe that this happened. Okay, so Stiles was in serious amounts of shit, in fact criminal amounts of shit not that he thought his dad would actually arrest him despite the fact he broke the law by trespassing on a crime scene, and he was probably grounded until he was twenty one, but he had just seen the hottest guy in all of freaking America and that made it all worth it.

Oh god, Stiles was pretty sure he wanted to melt into a puddle of goo just smelling this guy. The stranger was sat with just one seat between them and everything in Stiles just wanted to close the gap and snuggle into the handsome man’s warmth and wait to be petted like a good boy. Of course, shout he decide to complete part one of operation earn-a-pet, he would probably be pushed aside and the man would go stand on the other side of the station just to get away from the freaky submissive boy sat near him. Which was why Stiles remained still, or at least as still as he could, which meant while he waited he tapped his foot, jiggled his knee, and shifted in his seat every eight seconds like he couldn’t get comfortable which was both true (dude, the police station didn’t have the budget for comfortable seating!) and not the reason. With every movement Stiles could practically feel the other man tense. Of course Stiles would meet a gorgeous Dominant in the middle of the night and of course the man would find him irritating even though he wasn’t doing anything except just being himself. It was Stiles lot in life.

Finally his dad emerged. Stiles jumped up and met his dad’s eyes, biting his lip when he saw the look of disappointment in his dad’s eyes. “Sit back down, Stiles, you’re going to be here for a while.” Stiles slumped back down into his seat, and started tapping again. The stranger winced. “Mr Hale,” his dad said and Stiles snapped to attention to see that his dad was addressing the sexy newcomer. “If you’d come to my office. We weren’t expecting you this soon but since I’m up anyway... how did you get here so fast?”

Derek Hale stood up to follow the Sheriff into his office and Stiles strained to hear his answer. “I got a call from my sister three days ago but I only arrived in town just now,” Hale informed Stiles’ dad and disappeared into the Sheriff’s office, but not before casting one intense look in Stiles direction that seemed to steel his breath. Seriously, he was The Hottest Thing Stiles had Ever Seen! Definitely worth a possible arrest. He lay back over the three seats, making sure his head was on the one where Derek had sat and tried to convince himself that he could still smell the other man over the familiar scents of the station. Then he started tapping his foot again.

>>

Stiles didn’t get home until the next morning and he was convinced that it was more about his dad wanting to punish him than needing to do work at the office. Once home he had tried to go to bed but his dad gave him a lecture about circadian rhythms and it being school the next day and forced him to help him around the house to keep him active. Stiles cleaned every pot and pan in the kitchen, mopped the floors, vacuumed through the entire house, made both his and his dad’s beds and then polished every wooden surface he could find before cooking his dad dinner and starting his homework. Despite all that and the lack of sleep from the night before, Stiles still wasn’t able to fall asleep easily and when he did all he dreamed of was Derek Hale.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison and her parents talk about the Claiming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the lack of updates. Will be more soon!

Dinner at the Argent house the night after Claiming was tense. Allison sat opposite her mother, who's blood red smile stretched obscenely across her face even though it didn't reach her eyes. Her father was talking, making light conversation about how delicious dinner was and asking after friends of the family. Allison glared at them both.

“Are we just going to pretend that last night didn't happen?” Allison asked when there was an appropriate pause in conversation.

“Of course not, sweetheart,” Her mother assured her, and took a sip of burgundy coloured wine.

“And?” Her parents shared a meaningful glance.

“It wasn't a surprise to us that you'd be so popular,” her father began, “after all you're so beautiful and intelligent. Anyone would be a fool not to pursue you. However your mother and I have discussed it and... we're not sure we feel... comfortable with you dating right now,” he finished.

“Dad!” Allison groaned. “I'm seventeen! Please, just give me a chance. You know I'm responsible. And I really like Scott,” she admitted.

Her mother's cutlery scraped against the porcelain plate. Her father's hand encased hers and her mother took a deep breath. “Sweetheart, if we were going to let you date either of the boys, well, it would make a much better match for you and Jackson to spend time together.”

“Jackson?” Allison asked, shocked. “I don't... he's just a friend. Its Scott I like. Dad, I think I'm in love with him. Please let me date him!” 

“That is exactly what worries me, dear. You're seventeen and you think you're in love. This doesn't exactly inspire trust, does it?” Her mother asked in a completely reasonable voice.

“So now I'm being punished because I have feelings for someone? Dad?” Allison gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

Her father sighed. “The alternative to no dating is that you see both of them. For every date with Scott, you have one with Jackson. To get to know him, maybe it will open your eyes a little bit. Chaperoned, of course!” He warned her.

Allison flopped back in her seat, still unhappy with the ultimatum. Her father was the submissive in her parents relationship and he was also the more hands on parent. When she had been a kid the only time her mom got involved with the day to day details of her life was when she had to be punished. Otherwise it was her dad who picked her up from school, took her to the park, kissed her knee if she hurt it. Her mother chose her schools, attended parents evening with a keen ear for grades and behavioural issues. Allison always felt that her dad was a closet romantic, but that her mom had married him because their families had been close. It had been the logical choice. Allison didn't want logic to govern her love life, she wanted what her father had always longed for, and she knew that if she pushed hard enough he would be in her corner. “Chaperoned by who?”

Allison's mother looked displeased, but her father answered calmly, “your aunt. Kate is coming to town for a few weeks.”

“That's so cool. Why didn't you tell me before?” Allison asked, brightening instantly. Kate was a force of nature, and the most pushy submissive anyone had ever met. Most people who met her assumed she was a Dominant. She had the walk, talked the talk, and never let anyone tell her what to do. Allison's mother always said that was why she was single, but Allison personally believed that her aunt was un-collared because that was the way she wanted it. Besides, she was practically a nomad, and that type of lifestyle wasn't compatible with settling down.

“Last minute decision,” her father answered her with a small smile, and her mother sipped some more wine.


	4. Chapter 4

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Stiles woke up to the incessant beeping of his alarm clock and blindly smashed his hand against objects on his bedside table in an attempt to shut the noise off. In this process he knocked a bottle of water to the floor, split the open adderal container, and cut his finger on the side of a broken CD case. All in all it was a typical morning. Including the absence of his father.

The house echoed in loneliness all around him as he cleared up the mess he had created and took a quick shower. Afterwards he dressed in a grey t-shirt and a pair of warn jeans, grabbed his satchel and headed out to the Jeep to make his way to school. One of his least favourite places.

It wasn't like he was a bad student. Okay, he wasn't exactly an A grade student but his ADHD made it difficult to study and it didn't help that he had missed a chunk of school after his mom died. However he loved to learn. He was always reading up on things that interested him, like the history of the male circumcision or the legal entitlement of submissives in the state of California. It wasn't just academics that he had trouble with. It was other students. Honestly Scott was his only real friend, and there was a reason for that. Since puberty and dynamics started complicating school life, people seemed to find Stiles an easy target, they saw a mouthy submissive in front of them and most of them were still trying to figure out their dynamics so those who wanted to be or believed they were dominants tended to push Stiles around, touch him more than Stiles was comfortable with or bully him verbally. His mouth was often targeted. It was always 'I've know a way that'll shut you up, Stilinski' or 'don't you think a better use of those lips would be wrapped around by dick?'. Stiles stopped blushing at those kind of remarks when he was fourteen, now he just found them irritatingly unoriginal. The teachers never intervened, the Submissive teachers looked down on Stiles, thinking him undisciplined, and the Doms thought it would be character building for him to learn to deal with people in the real world. It was ironic, as an adult collared Submissive he would be expected to make a formal complaint about any dominant other than his own who touched him and it would be taken very seriously, the person touching him without his dominant's permission would probably be fined, perhaps even whipped depending on the severity of the incident. As an unattached adolescent submissive he was expected just to put up with it. Thrown to the wolves, so to speak.

“Hey Stiles!” Scott greeted him and Stiles realised he had been sat in his parked Jeep outside of his school for the last few minutes lost in thought. A quick glance at the time told him he'd be late if he didn't get a move on now.

“Scott, what's up?” He asked casually as they walked towards the main school building.

“Everything's cool. In fact... there is an opening on the Lacrosse team. Want to come with me and try out?” Scott suggested, hope written all over his face. 

Stiles rolled his eyes towards the sky. “Honestly, man, you want to put yourself through that again? Well, you are more than welcome to spend another year sat on the bench watching the Jackson Whittemore show, but I have better things to do.” That wasn't exactly true. In fact, generally speaking Stiles was better at sports than Scott, including Lacrosse although when he knew he was being watched he tended to screw it up but letting his inner klutz reign free. In summer he surfed, though, and found nothing more freeing than being out on the waves where no one was watching him, all too busy riding their own wave. Truthfully Stiles stayed away from team sports like Lacrosse because of the locker room. He was harassed enough in public hallways and the classroom, he had no desire to have jerks like Jackson Whittemore touch his bare flesh to complete a dare from one of his asshole jock friends.

“Fine,” Scott huffed. “But will you at least come and watch me try out?”

“Will I come and watch you humiliate yourself in front of the popular half of school? Sure, I'm always up for a laugh. See you at lunch.” Stiles said and they parted ways for form room.

-After Try-Outs-

“Man, that looks like it hurts,” Stiles winced as he applied antiseptic to a cut on Scott's brow.

“Do you think she saw?” Scott asked.

“Dude, the whole school saw. There was like our entire class there plus most of them have camera phones... forget the whole school, my dad is probably at the prescient reprimanding his deputy for watching it,” Stiles crushed his friend's futile hope with a clean conscience. He warned Scott what would happen, and while even he couldn't have dreamed up such an insane mess, he wasn't feeling all too sympathetic. After all, it was just too funny.

“Crap. Now her parents are never going to let me date her exclusively!” Scott groaned.

Stiles sighed and sat down next to his friend in the empty locker room and passed the poor boy another wad of tissue for his nose belled. “Scott... if you are trying to win over her parents by trying to prove that you're just as good as Jackson, don't. Just be yourself, because you're better than him, and Allison knows that.”

They sat there quietly, just bleeding, until Scott said, “you're a good friend, Stiles,” and Stiles smiled gently in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, i'm back... kinda. Look, this story isn't abandoned, none of my A03 stories are. I'm just in the middle of writing three Big Bang entries and moving house so busy is kind of a tame word to describe my life. I also had writers block, but found a way to get the story moving. Sorry it's so rushed. Hope you enjoy the progress and I'll work harder on updating faster. Thanks for everyone who reads this and those how comment and leave kudos, you motivate me to update and help me a lot. Cheers.

Apparently it had been a severe underestimation to say that the whole school was watching, because the next day Stiles found the footage of Scott's humiliation on YouTube; the whole world was watching, or at least one thousand seven hundred and eighty two people. It also had fifteen likes and a few comments that Stiles hoped Scott never had to see. Stiles himself re-watched the clip three times, but only because he noticed the first time that none other than Derek Hale could be seen in the crowd. It wasn't until the third time he watched the clip that he noticed that Derek hadn't been watching the action on the pitch. He'd been staring right at the bench. Right at Stiles.

The idea that Derek Hale, sex God and mystery man, had even noticed that Stiles was alive sent shivers down his spine. The good kind, but also the bad kind because Derek was scary in his sexiness and Stiles couldn't imagine a scenario where the other man was interested in Stiles for a benevolent reason. Still... he could always dream. It wasn't like the stranger hadn't been making his way into Stiles's dream already.

In the next few days Stiles spent his time watching out for Derek, around corners, tailing his car on the way to school, lurking in the car park. Eventually he convinced himself that Derek's appearance at the Lacrosse practise was just a fluke, after all the guy did live here for most of his life he had probably just been reminiscing about the good old days when he was Captain of the Lacrosse team or some such, and the only reason Derek had been looking at Stiles was because he had been trying to remember where he recognised him from.

Right?

Then he started seeing him everywhere. Even Danny started to notice, of course that could be because Derek was uber-hot and Danny wanted to know where he could obtain a stalker like him. Not that anyone used the word stalker, probably because they were all trying to figure out exactly what some hot twenty-something year old was doing following around the Sheriff's kid. The reason Stiles knew they were all thinking this was because he over heard several people saying things to that affect.

Stiles wasn't sure what was more insulting, the fact that after ten years of going to the same school only a handful of kids knew his name, or that no one thought he was worthy of Mr Tall Dark and Mysterious.

On second thoughts it was definitely the first thing that was more hurtful, because hell, even Stiles himself had trouble believing Derek was interested in him.#

All of that was moot though, because Derek was following him, not-so-subtly and ever-so-creepily, but Stiles couldn't think of a way to broach the subject. Derek had never once initiated contact and Stiles didn't exactly think 'hey, Hale, why are you talking me?' would get him anything but a swift kick, and Stiles didn't want kicking from Derek. Spanking on the other hand... 

He shook himself. Those thoughts belonged to the night, alone with his hand in a warm bed.

“Hey, Stilinska,” someone shouted out.

It was one of Jackson's crew, an annoying jackass called Evan Moore who was a racist bullying Dom. Of course all of that was fine as long as he scored for their high school team and smiled for the school paper photo. 

Stiles hurried out of the school car park and in the direction of the park. He couldn't go too far because his next class starting in fifteen minutes but at least he could limit the amount of people who witnessed his humiliation. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that he hadn't seen Derek this afternoon.

“Oh, come on baby don't be shy, I know you want to suck me off really,” Evan cooed, his friends laughing as they followed him.

Arrogant prick. It wasn't even like the guy was particularly well endowed. Stiles had noticed his appendage in the shower, and of course his friends had noticed him noticing which was when his had all started. Yes the guy was good looking but that didn't make up for his attitude and while some people said it wasn't size, but what you do with it, that mattered, Stiles was sure Evan didn't know what to do with it. Also, everyone knew that was a lie.

“Don't you douchebags care that there are laws against the sexual harassment of Submissives?” Stiles whined ineffectively as they cornered him against the abandoned jungle gym. 

“Aw, what are you going to do, run to daddy and tell him that the mean Doms at school are picking on you?”

“Uh, yes!” Stiles said. He wouldn't, not really, but the fact was he could.

“Or maybe you're hoping that lover boy will show up and save you?” He taunted and Stiles understood what this was really about. Derek. This jackass wanted to know who Derek was and why he was stalking Stiles, because in Evan's eyes Stiles wasn't worth anything.

Except apparently the time of day it took to insult him.

Stiles stood his ground even as they got uncomfortably close. “I don't need anyone to take care of me!” He yelled at them.

They laughed. “You're a Sub... of course you do.”

“Actually all that means is that I want someone to,” he pointed out, right before he lunged at Evan and kneed the jerk in the groin. He jumped away and made certain to land on his friend's toes. He was surprised the other two hadn't started beating on him but he found out the reason when he turned around.

Derek was there, standing over the two boys who had twin bruises on their faces. “You want someone to take care of you?” He said, as if answering the question of why he was there without Stiles even asking it.

He may have whimpered. Maybe. He was sure that if he had then it sounded more manly out loud to others than it did to him. Or not, considering the expression on Derek's face. 

“Come on. I'll make sure you get to class. Local Politics, right?” Derek asked, coming to stand next to Stiles and taking his arm in a gentle grasp before pulling him along.

“Is it creepy or romantic that you already know my class schedule?” Stiles asked, not even pretending to be surprised that Derek had stalking down to a fine art.

“I'd go with the latter,” Derek practically growled at him, as if he was insulted that Stiles doubted the purity of his actions.

“Okay,” he squeaked. “Um.... why are you making romantic gestures towards me again? Not that I'm complaining, trust me, no complaining from Stiles! But people, especially hot mysterious strangers don't generally serenade me with violent actions,” he pointed out as they neared his class room. Wow, today he'd even be on time for class. Who knew getting stalked could improve his punctuality?

“I'm not mysterious. You can ask me anything,” Derek said.

“Uh, I kinda just did,” Stiles replied nervously as he reclaimed his arm.

“Right,” Derek agreed flatly. “When I was a kid my parents used to tell me that when they met each other they just knew that they were perfect for each other. I never believed them. Then I saw you, breathed your scent, touched your skin, heard your voice... Now all I know is this burning desire to be everything to you. But you're sixteen, so for now 'everything' is just protecting you from getting hurt in any way. That includes getting you to class on time before Mr Harris gives you attention. Again.”

Stiles was stunned, and then he was alone in a corridor as people filed into the classroom.

Derek thought Stiles was perfect? Stiles thought Derek was crazy. But maybe that was okay.


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles started to get used to being 'escorted' around by Derek. While he still wasn't sure that it wasn't all an elaborate prank set up by Jackson to ruin what was left of Stiles' self-esteem, he did enjoy the fringe benefits while they lasted. Mostly it was the difference in the way people treated him. Boys in the locker room stopped staring at him and sniggering when he undressed, Doms of all ages and genders stopped touching him in ways that made him uncomfortable and over all there was this look of envy and puzzlement that every submissive who saw Derek with him had on their faces. Stiles had to hide his grin but inside his head he was shouting 'that's right bitches, Stilinski scored the hottest Dom in the whole state'. 

That wasn't to say he was completely comfortable with the events that were shaping his life. Scott wasn't around much to notice, spending all his time with Allison or watching Allison with Jackson, but it must be obvious that something had changed in Stiles' life because he came home one day about a week later and his dad was there dressed in casual clothes cooking Stiles' favourite meal from scratch. Stiles had been instantly suspicious, making sure his dad wasn't (a) dying, (b) moving them to a different state, or (c) getting remarried, not that his dad dad dated but the occasion was so rare that it demanded an equally rare reason.

Apparently Stiles was the reason.

They sat through the meal in a comfortable silence for a good twenty five minutes before Stiles finally found the courage to ask his dad all the questions he wanted answers too. “Dad,” he began, staring down at a piece of meat dangling from the end of his fork, “how did you know... that mom was the one for you?”

Stiles didn't dare look up, he barely even breathed because he was so aware of the taboo of bringing up his mother in conversation. He knew his dad had never meant to create an environment where he felt uncomfortable asking about her, but they had both been in so much pain when she died and neither of them were very good with talking about feelings. Stiles was better, but only because he was always talking so occasionally a painful and emotionally loaded topic came up and he would find a way to babble on through it. His dad didn't use words the way Stiles did, and so he found it much more difficult to articulate himself on any subject let alone when it came to the things that mattered the most. “I think I always knew that she was the one. She just seemed to... fit. It's too simplistic to say that opposites always attract or something Hallmark like, because your mom was my opposite in many ways. For example she loved to talk, just like you, about anything and everything, and she was very absent-minded unless it was an important thing like taking you to the doctors or buying my favourite kind of bread. Those were the things that were important to her, looking after us. We had things in common too, like we both loved living in Beacon Hills, we both enjoyed camping and we both hated sci-fi movies. When I was being stubborn to the point that I couldn't see past my own pig-headedness she would argue with me, but she wasn't a confrontational person and mostly we compromised with each other. She wasn't a perfect woman, Stiles, but she was perfect for me.”

Stiles was shocked. He didn't think he had ever heard his dad say so much at once, especially not on a topic that was so deeply personal. Once again he had heard the word perfect, and he think he understood it more now except how could Derek know Stiles was perfect for him when they barely even knew anything about each other. All Stiles really knew was that the man's sister was dead. Maybe grief had sent him insane. It was about as possible as Derek Hale falling in love with Stiles Stilinski.

His dad was giving him a strange look and Stiles quickly gulped down some water and focused on not looking like he'd been thinking something important. 

“Stiles, if you ever want to know if you're in love then... all you have to do is ask your self this; do you want to grow old with that person? Can you imagine feeling joy at waking up next to them every day for the rest of their lives? Does the idea of not having them in your future fill you with pain?”

Stiles tried to apply those questions to Derek. He wasn't used to seeing him every day at the moment and couldn't even imagine a future where he expected the other man to be around all the time. Would he like to wake up next to Derek? He wasn't sure, the idea was twenty kinds of intimidating. “What if you didn't know that person well enough to answer those questions yet?” Stiles asked as if the topic was theoretical, because you know, that always fooled people in the movies. Not.

“Then you aren't in love yet,” the Sheriff smiled at his son, a warm genuine expression that reminded Stiles what it used to be like to feel safe before he lost his mom and before he knew just how dangerous his dad's job was. “Don't worry on it, son. You're only sixteen, you'll find your Dominant eventually and then you'll understand exactly what I'm describing.”

Stiles smiled weakly back at his dad. He didn't know how to tell him that it might be too late for that, because apparently Derek had found him first.

~TW~

Jackson knocked on the Argent's front door with a posy of expensive white roses in his hand and a confident smile that wreaked of believing that he would always get what he wanted just because he was Jackson Whittemore. Mrs Argent, a ferocious Domme with short red hair and a smile that was everything but genuine. Jackson liked her almost as much as he feared her. Quickly he held out the flowers towards her, keeping a single rose back for her daughter. “These are for you, Mrs Argent,” he said.

She took them with perfectly insincere surprise, “why thank you, Jackson. My daughter will be joining us in a moment. Please, come in and meet the rest of the family,” she invited smoothly.

Jackson smiled back at her. He knew that the Argent family preferred him over Scott, and he didn't blame them. While they were both Doms and both only sixteen years old, they were otherwise vastly different. Jackson had two parents, was the Captain of the Lacrosse team, owned a brand new Porsche and got straight A's in school. Scott... well had had zero talent on the field as proven by that hilarious youtube clip, was the son of a divorced couple who everyone gossiped about, and he was only just scraping by in the subjects he wasn't failing. He wasn't sure why they were even bothering to allow Scott to see Allison at all, but it wasn't like he was worried about it. He knew he was going to win in the end.

“Chris, darling, look who arrived. Jackson dear this is my collared submissive and Allison's father, Christopher Argent, and his sister Kate Argent who will be your chaperone.” Mrs Agent introduced them and then left, taking the flowers to be trimmed and watered in a vase.

“Mr Argent, Miss Argent, it's a pleasure to meet you,” he greeted them formally.

Kate's eyes raked over him appreciatively. “Oh honey, the pleasure is all mine,” she said in a sinfully husky voice. Jackson didn't allow the comment to make him uncomfortable, he just continued to smile politely and waited for Allison to appear.

He didn't have to wait long before he saw her coming down the banister dressed in a perfectly appropriate gold knee length dress with a black woollen shawl and a purse that matched her shoes. She didn't exactly look thrilled but Jackson was sure he could change her mind.

“Okay, kids, let's go!” Kate said enthusiastically and the three of them moved towards the door. 

“Look after her for me, Jackson,” Mr Agent called out just before they left. 

“Of course, Mr Argent,” Jackson agreed with a tight smile and then finally they were able to start the date.

“You look stunning,” he remembered to say as he appreciated the long line of her leg while helping her into the front seat of his car.

“Thanks,” she said in reply.

They drove off down the street towards town in silence. Eventually Kate spoke from the back of the car. “Take a left down here,” she ordered and Jackson controlled the tick in his mouth before doing as she asked.

“Why?”

“You'll see,” she smiled suggestively and Jackson started to get worried.

Five minutes later she asked him to pull up and Jackson briefly considered the possibility she was going to car jack him before he saw the amusement on Allison's face. 

“Let me out,” Kate said.

“Aren't you supposed to be chaperoning us?” Jackson asked.

“Oh honey that's sweet but I can think of a thousand other things I'd rather be doing than watching you two awkwardly navigate your way through a first date. Besides, you'll get to know each other so much better without me,” she said from the pavement. Jackson drove off happily abandoning her to her own devices. He'd much rather be alone with Allison anyway.

“Wait,” he suddenly connected the dots, “does that mean she left you and McCall alone too?”

“Yeah. Equal chances, remember?” Allison pointed out.

“So how do I know you aren't breaking the rules with him?” He said and Allison glared at him.

“I guess you'll just have to trust me,” she said frigidly, clearly upset that he would question her honour.

He quickly sent her a charming smile. “Then it's lucky I already do,” he said, and she was mollified but he could tell that this first date was going to be a minefield of avoiding the 'Scott' issues on top of all the other first date etiquette. 

Still, he wasn't about to give up just yet.


	7. Chapter 7

The Sheriff was having a typical day off at home. Which meant that he'd woken up to a note from his son listing acceptable breakfast foods (bacon, eggs, pancakes and waffles all suspiciously missing from this list). After eating a some toast and black coffee (with three sugars), the Sheriff started in on some paperwork. Three hours later he was interrupted by the door bell. He sighed, figuring it was his deputy bringing a problem to him or one of his noisy neighbours asking a favour. To his surprise it was Derek Hale.

“Sheriff,” the boy greeted formally.

“Mr. Hale,” Stilinski eyed the boy warily. “If this is about your sister then I'm sorry I can't discuss-”

“It's not,” Derek bit out, discomfort gracing his face before a mask of politeness slammed down in its place. “It's about your son.”

“Ah,” the Sheriff said, although he didn't understand how the boy even knew Stiles. “You'd better come on in, then.”

Derek followed him inside the Stilinski house, pausing only to comment on how well kept it was. The Sheriff nodded tersely, swallowing a lump of guilt that the only reason his house hadn't fallen down around him was because of his son. Stiles pretty much did everything around here, made sure the bills were paid on time, brought the shopping home, dusted and washed their clothes. Occasionally Sheriff Stilinski would cook for him and his son, but generally speaking they'd eat at different times since work kept him busier than he'd like.

“So, what has Stiles done to earn a visit from you to the Sheriff?” He asked, motioning for Derek to sit on the couch opposite where he was standing.

Derek frowned at him and the Sheriff's gut clenched in fear. “It's nothing like that. I'm here to ask your permission to formally court your son.”

The Sheriff was shocked to say the least. When Stiles had come back from the Claiming Ceremony without a bracelet an overwhelming part of him had been happy that his son was still single, that he still had time to grow up and find himself before the expectations and desires of someone else was pushed on to him. Obviously he'd been a little disappointed too, on Stiles' behalf because he knew how much his son wanted to be noticed by someone, to have someone realise how worthy he was of their love and affection. He didn't even know how Derek knew his son, let alone if his son would be receptive to Derek's gesture. The Sheriff, of course, didn't have the right to choose his son's partner even if he could refuse a collaring until Stiles was of age. Still, this might explain those questions that Stiles had been asking a few nights ago.

When the Sheriff had his breath back, he asked, “your intentions?”

“To provisionally collar your son at the next Claiming Ceremony,” Derek replied without hesitation. To provisionally collar someone was when a Dominant made a claim at an official ceremony and presented the submissive with a token, most often it was a bracelet but there had been times in the past when it would have been a necklace tight enough to mistake for a collar.

“Is my son aware of your intentions?” 

“He knows I find him... interesting,” Derek said vaguely.

“Interesting,” the Sheriff huffed a laugh that had nothing to do with humour. “Yeah, Stiles has always been 'interesting' that's for certain.” 

“Look,” he said after a pause. “You're not a bad guy, and you've clearly been raised well. The thing that you should know, Derek, is that I have a gun. Don't think for a second that I wouldn't use it on you if I thought you were hurting my son. I'm highly protective of him and he is all that I have left since my wife died.”

Derek was impressed, but it wasn't anything he hadn't already figured out. “I understand, sir. But I won't be hurting Stiles.”

The Sheriff eyed him disbelievingly. “At least not emotionally, right?” He said perceptively.

Derek had the balls to look him straight in the eye. “I have no intention of breaking the law and sleeping with your son before offering him a collar, however it accepted, even encouraged, for a Dom to Top a submissive they are courting. While we are courting Stiles will always have a safeword, and I will always respect his boundaries. You have my word,” he added solemnly.

Sheriff Stilinski sighed. He guessed this was the best he could hope for. He did genuinely believe that Derek Hale was a good guy, he may have a dark part but he'd seemed to move past it in New York and had finished high school with impressive grades and gone to college on a sports scholarship where he'd studied psychology. Ever since he'd graduated he'd been working with victims of violence, especially people who'd survived attacks or who's family had been decimated. It was a positive way to show that he was dealing with his past and it gave the Sheriff hope.

“I'll give you my permission, Derek. Now all you have to do is get Stiles'.”

~TW~

Hours later Stiles snuck home to find that his dad had been called out to the station despite the fact it was his day off. Apparently his deputy's dominant had gone into labour and so the Sheriff had offered to cover the remainder of his shift. Stiles was proud of his dad, he was a good man and a good law enforcer, he just wished the Sheriff remembered more that he was supposed to be a good dad too.

Stiles dejectedly fixed his own dinner, noting that at least his dad hadn't eaten any of the forbidden food, and drank down some milk with his Adderall before heading up to his bedroom. Shivering he noticed absently that his window was open, which was strange since he'd been sure to shut it this morning and he knew his dad would have checked before leaving the house. They were both very safety conscious. He went over to shut it and caught his breath in fear as he heard someone else breathing in the room. Before he could cry out in fear, that someone spoke his name and immediately Stiles felt safe.

“Spend much time hanging out in unsuspecting teenager's room while they're at school, do you?” Stiles asked Derek as he turned to face the man who was sat comfortably in Stiles' chair as if he owned the room. Now he caught his breath for an entirely different reason. Gods was Derek hot, and him being in Stiles' bedroom just left him open to sexual fantasy.

“You're late,” Derek all but growled out, clearly unhappy at the teenager.

“Yeah but it's not like my dad's around to notice and honestly I kind of thought you'd be stalking... I mean following... um... escorting me from afar. So you would have known. Except you weren't. My bad. Why are you in my room again?” He asked, babbling as Derek made his way over to Stiles.

“I'm around to notice. In future you'll tell me if you're going to be home late,” he said, and it sounded like an order to Stiles untrained ear.

“I will?” He squeaked out.

“Of course. Because you're mine now,” Derek said, oozing self-confidence and dominance. He was now standing with mere inches separating him from Stiles, his right hand reached out and Stiles found his wrist encircled by Derek's thumb and fingers like a living bracelet. The gesture sent a spark of pleasure through Stiles' body down to his dick. Derek wanted him, like actually wanted him. Wow. This was what it felt like to be claimed.

“Yours?” Stiles said, and it still sounded like a question.

“Mine,” Derek growled out and claimed Stiles' mouth with passion and force. It made Stiles brain melt and his knees buckle. “So you have to start taking care of yourself because you belong to me, and nothing of mine gets broken, understand?” Derek whispered into the shell of his ear, breathing deep and harsh now that their marathon kiss was over.

“Only if you do the same,” Stiles said.

“Promise,” Derek agreed and then he was leaving.

Stiles was surprised to find that even now Derek was gone, it was like he was still there with him, making sure he was being a good obedient submissive, making sure what was his was still safe. He revelled in that feeling and breathed easily as sleep welcomed him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I came back. Sorry for the delay - MASSIVE writers block. I have a plan now so should be able to finish this in about 7,000 - 10, 000 words! Will try and update more!

For the next few days Stiles and Derek became inseparable. When they weren't forcibly parted by classes they could be found wrapped up in each other, even walking down the street Derek would have one large strong hand wrapped around Stiles' delicate wrist as a sign of ownership and dominance. Stiles found himself sinking into each submission without even questioning it. For the first time he felt accepted for who he was and utterly cherished, however the honeymoon phase wouldn't last forever.

They were at Stiles' house after school on day. Stiles was playing on a video game against Scott who was sat in his own house moping that Allison was with Jackson at the moment and not himself. Derek was sprawled on the sofa, reaching a research paper his old professor had forwarded to him, and resting his fingers on the back of Stiles neck, occasionally caressing him. It felt normal, comfortable, but still exciting. Stiles tried his best to concentrate as he tried to shoot down the enemy and protect Scott's back from insurgents but just as they came across a battalion of hostiles Derek sighed and shifted on the sofa, his thigh coming to rest against Stiles's back where he sat on the floor leaning against the furniture. Stiles' concentration abandoned him and he unconsciously arched into the warmth. 

“You died.”

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed, carelessly. He removed the headphones as Scott started to yell down the line at him and let the game reset itself to menu. 

“Is it interesting?”

“What, the paper? To me, yes. To someone who doesn't understand the theory behind victim blaming and the duality of it's nature? Probably not. I'm reading a paper from one of the students at the college on rethinking society's reaction to victimisation.”

“Why did he send it to you?”

“I'm thinking of opening a practise that specialises in changing the way victims of domestic abuse and PTSD are treated, with a focus on survival rather than reiterating victim thinking.”

“So, your whole life isn't about following me around?” Stiles joked. It seemed the Dom who was fixated on him had a heart of gold and an intelligence to match. It was as intimidating as it was impressive, and he wished he knew how to talk to Derek about how he was feeling. Truth was, even after all the time they had spent constantly together they still knew very little about each other, and Stiles really didn't want one of the first things Derek learnt about how he felt to reveal how damaged his self esteem was. His inadequacies were his own and Derek had never done anything to make him feel undervalued or unappreciated. 

“I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable. I know I come on a little strong I just... I saw you there and an intense feeling inside me motivated me to make sure you would be mine. I guess it was fear. I've already lost so many people close to me, I wasn't about to let you go.”

Stiles turned around to find Derek gazing off out the window. His mind had clearly strayed to less happy thoughts and Stiles hated that he didn't know how to make it better, especially when Derek seemed to have made Stiles protection and happiness a priority. “Laura's funeral is on Saturday, right? Would it be okay if I came with you?”

Derek's eyes snapped to Stiles' face, wide and emotive although Stiles couldn't quite decipher which emotions were swirling around in the Dom's face. The silence that lay between them unnerved him and he started to doubt himself. It was pretty invasive to invite yourself to someone else's funeral when you had never met them, even if it was just to support the person who was courting you.

“You would do that for me?”

Stiles nodded. He realised now, hearing the vulnerability in Derek's voice, that the Dom's emotions were just as fragile as his own. There was room in this relationship for Stiles to take care of Derek just as much as Derek took care of Stiles. It balanced him slightly and he reached over to lace their fingers together, an act of intimacy normally reserved for collared couples. “She was your family.”

“It's at three.”

“I'll be there,” he promised and rested his face against their clasped hands. Derek went back to reading after that, but Stiles stayed there a little longer just watching the beautiful Dom as his eyes flickered over the text. A sense of peace fell over him and maybe, just maybe, he was starting to understand what his dad had been saying about love. The idea of Derek being alone at Laura's funeral hurt, and Stiles wanted to do anything he could to alleviate the pain of losing his family even if he could never take it away, just like no one could ever remove the pain that losing his mom had caused him.

 

SATURDAY

 

Stiles was dressed in black. He wore a pair of pressed slacks that had been brought especially, and a plain black t-shirt. The weather was mild enough that no jacket was needed although he felt quite under-dressed. When Derek showed up it became evident that this wasn't a showy funeral, as the Dom was wearing black jeans, a tee and his trademark leather jacket. His face was even more sombre than normal and he looked like he hadn't slept all night. Stiles, who had always previously waited for Derek to initiate physical contact, surged forwards to engulf the mourning man in a tight hug of complete support and affection. Derek was stiff at first but eventually he allowed himself the comfort that Stiles offered and seemed to almost collapse into the hug. 

The service was being held in the same cemetery that Stiles' mom and the rest of Derek's family was buried in. The Hale's had a family crypt that was all too full, especially since only a handful of others turned up. The ceremony was brief, allowing more time for people to offer their condolences rather than preaching that she was in a better place. Stiles stood awkwardly by Derek's side, not touching the Dom as he stared blankly at his sister's casket. He hoped that his presence helped some, because he felt so useless stood there while his Dom grieved.

Stiles found himself become part of the event when people offered him condolences the same as they did to Derek. He guessed his closeness to Derek had given people the opinion that Stiles was a part of the family, even though he wasn't. Yet. 

There was a woman who had been Laura's roommate in college, Laura's favourite teacher from high school who had since retired, an ex-submissive and a work colleague as well as a smattering of close friends who wept as they shared stories about how fiercely protective Laura had been over Derek, and how recklessly she had lived her life. She had wanted to feel alive, they explained, after being haunted by death all her life. Clearly it hadn't worked out the way she had planned, but Stiles thought that the point they were trying to make was that she had lived her life how she wanted and to the full. Not everyone was so lucky. Stiles knew that if he died today he would regret so much. No one could say that he had made the most of what he had been given. Maybe with Derek he could change that.

The funeral was sad but uneventful until the arrival of one woman. She had come to pay her respects but had missed most of the service, 'unavoidably'. Even if Derek hadn't tensed at the sight of her Stiles wouldn't have been able to miss her arrival. She was dressed appropriately in black however she had made an effort not to less the drab dress code detract from her obvious beauty. She had beautiful wavy caramel brown hair that bounced around her shoulders, a tight modest black dress that show cased her figure while ensuring a sense of decency was presented. Her eyes danced with intensity as she approached Derek who had taken a step away from Stiles upon her arrival. Stiles kept a keen eye on her.

“Derek,” she began, her voice as sultry as expected. “I'm so sorry. I know how close Laura and you were.”

Her hand came up to touch one of Derek's biceps, red painted nails wrapped around the muscle with a sense of ownership. Derek did nothing to acknowledge the gesture but he didn't break away from her hold either which sparked a previously suppressed flare of jealousy within Stiles. He bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something. This really wasn't the time or place.

“Kate. I didn't know you were back in town.”

“I couldn't miss Allison's first collaring, now could I? She's growing up so fast. Makes me nostalgic. I still remember the feel of leather tightening around my neck for the first time,” she said in a breathy voice. Her hand finally dropped from Derek's arm and she took a slight step back. “There's nothing quite like your first, is there Derek?”

Derek's flinched, his features hardened slightly as he watched Kate walk away from him. She stopped by the casket and placed a flower on top before leaving the cemetery. Stiles realised that, unlike everyone else, she hadn't acknowledged his presence or connection to Derek. He suddenly felt very small and out of place. 

“D... Do you want to be alone?” He asked. They were the last two guests left, with only a cemetery attendee waiting to take the casket down into the crypt when everyone finished saying goodbye. 

Derek didn't answer with words, but the way he shrugged off the hand that Stiles had raised to place on his shoulder and walked off into the crypt said enough for Stiles. He knew Derek wasn't finished saying goodbye, but it seemed he had finished needing Stiles.


End file.
